


Be my va(ria)lentine

by AllThingsVaria



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: don't take the pairing too seriously, poor levi, varia shenanigans
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-07
Updated: 2017-02-07
Packaged: 2018-09-22 18:21:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9619529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllThingsVaria/pseuds/AllThingsVaria
Summary: Levi meets a beautiful lady in a supermarket and falls in love. Unfortunately for him... everything goes wrong.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Another story that used to be posted on my ff.net account. Enjoy!

Levi A. Than had never met a more perfect woman in his entire life.

When he had come to Japan a couple of days back, accompanied by his boss and teammates, the man had to admit that he had not expected much. Truth be told, he didn't even know why they were bothering with this… so the Sawada brat was getting married, why the hell had _they_ gotten invitations?

It was too late to be asking those questions now, though. After all, there would be free food and booze at the reception and as if that hadn't already sealed the deal anyway, Lussuria was a sucker for anything romantic.

Even so, Levi had not been looking forward to it. Not one bit.

But all that changed the moment he’d set his eyes on _her._

It was fate, Levi was convinced... it had to be.

He had been walking down the isles of a busy supermarket on a Thursday afternoon when he saw her for the first time, carrying a plastic basket and browsing through different brands of rice as she hummed a nice little tune to herself. It had been a chance meeting: Levi was only out buying booze for his boss, but boy- had it been a memorable one.

With her brown hair, and her beautiful, round brown eyes- the sweet smile on her pink lips... there was no doubt to be had- Levi was in love.

He had returned to their hotel that night, with a dopey smile on his lips and a faraway look in his eyes, and proceeded to think about her for the remainder of the day and the entirety of the night. He didn't get a wink of sleep, but when he got up for breakfast that morning there was still a smile on his lips and his stomach was doing flip flops.

Ah... this beautiful mystery woman. What he would give to spend even an hour – no, a _minute_ – of the day with her...

As he sat down at the table, pouring salt into his coffee instead of sugar, Levi let out a contented sigh. He wondered what her name was. Perhaps she was named after a flower- delicate and beautiful like herself.

Her eyes were truly the most captivating shade of brown. Filled with warmth and... and sunshine!

“ _Oh my god!_ ” Lussuria gasped as he entered the room, a look of horror crossing his face. “Levi.... are you- are you feeling okay?! You look terrible!”

And that he did. There were dark circles underneath Levi's eyes, a blush on his cheeks and an absent look in his eyes.

“Lussuria, I...” Levi paused, a dreamy sigh leaving his lips. “I have never felt better!”

Lussuria looked doubtful and placed a hand on Levi's forehead to check his temperature. He didn't feel warm though so a fever wasn't it. The man frowned.

“Are you sure you're feeling alright, dear? You look like you haven't slept all night.”

“Oh, that's because I didn't.” Levi admitted dismissively, “I couldn't stop thinking of her. Lussuria, what kind of flowers do you think she'd like?”

Lussuria blinked. When he spoke next, it was slowly.

“Well... I don't know, Levi. Who's _she_?”

“She's... she's the air that I breathe, the sun that I crave, my ray of sunshine in this world of darkness! She's- she's my everything! Do you think she'd prefer red roses, or white ones? Or should I go with something less traditional?”

If Lussuria bore an expression that would suggest Christmas had arrived earlier this year, Levi did not notice. He was, after all, still thinking about the love of his life.

“Oh my! Levi, do you maybe have a little crush-”

“VOOOOOOIIII!”

Before Lussuria could finish what he’d been about to say, Superbi Squalo ran into the room, his hair hoisted up into a high ponytail. It took Levi a moment to notice, but the man hadn't come in through any of the side doors- those were all still firmly closed. He had entered through the main entrance instead.

Back from his morning run, most likely.

“Good morning, Squ-chan!”

“How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that, asshole?! AND WHERE'S THE COFFEE?! VOOOOII!!”

Without actually waiting for a reply, Squalo grabbed Levi's cup and took a huge gulp. His expression turned sour instantly, and next thing any of them knew, he was spitting it out again. All over Levi.

“Ew! What the hell, Squalo?!”

“ _What the hell?_ ” Squalo echoed angrily, vigorously wiping his mouth. “I should be asking _you_ that same question, you piece of shit! Your coffee tastes like the fucking Atlantic Ocean!”

“What? No, it doesn't!”

“Yes, is does! The fuck would I lie about that?”

Determined to prove his colleague wrong, Levi pulled the mug towards himself. He brought it up to his lips and took a generous gulp. Needless to say, his taste buds suffered. Greatly.

“Ugh. What the _fuck_.”

“See?” Squalo grunted. “It tastes like shit. Did you pour salt in it, or what?!”

“What? No, of course not.”

His eyes wandered to the table though, and there was no denying that the shaker standing closest to Levi and his coffee was indeed the one with a huge, hard-to-miss “S” on it. Huh.

“You did, didn't you? You poured salt into your coffee instead of sugar! Oh my god, how _stupid_ can you get?!”

“Shut up! I was distracted, okay?!”

“Yeah, Squalo.” Lussuria interfered before the two of them could start a fight. The man clapped his hands together excitedly. “Give Levi-chan a rest. After all, from what mama Luss gathered, he has a girlfriend now... isn't that exciting?”

“...”

“...”

“...”

“Run that by me again? Because for a moment there I could have sworn you said-”

“Levi got himself a girlfriend, hon.”

Quite rudely, Squalo burst out laughing.

“Pfffhahahahahaha! Levi?! _A girlfriend?!_ Hahahaha, good one, Lussuria!” The swordsman slapped Lussuria on the back, nearly keeling over from the laughter wracking his body, but the other man just pouted.

“No, Squ-chan. I'm serious. Aren't I, Levi?”

Two sets of eyes turned to the Thunder guardian at that point, and Levi found his cheeks heating up. He twirled his fingers.

“I, well, I wouldn't say she's my _girlfriend_ yet... but- but the chemistry's there and- huh, well, I wouldn't- I wouldn't say it's not an option.” Levi coughed, a bit embarrassed, but truth be told he was also happy. He couldn't help but imagine it- him and the beautiful angel from the supermarket... _holding hands_!

Squalo, finally somewhat recovering from the onslaught of laughter, straightened up and wiped away a tear.

“Phew. Lussuria, don't make me laugh like that. You’re going to kill me one of these days.” There was a moment of silence, only interrupted by Squalo's chuckles, before: “Wait. Holy shit, you're _serious_? You've actually met somebody of the female gender that's interested?”

If it was possible for a human jaw to drop and hit the floor in sheer astonishment, Levi swore that that's what Squalo's would have done in that moment.

“That's- Why's that so hard to believe?!”

“Because it's you! And you're- well- you're _you..._ ”

 _What was that supposed to mean?_ Levi bristled.

“What's wrong with me being me?”

But Squalo never got to elaborate what exactly was so bad about Levi being himself, for a moment later one of the door to their right was pulled open and a sleepy, disgruntled prince walked into the room. He leaned his body against the door frame, arms crossed over his chest, and glared at them from underneath his bangs.

“Why are you peasants shouting at this ungodly hour of the morning? The Prince can't sleep.”

Squalo, looking nothing short of gleeful, spilled the news.

“Voooiiii! This piece of crap got himself a girlfriend!”

“Ushishi~ did you hit your head, Squalo? You know Lussuria doesn't-”

“Oh, he doesn't mean _me,_ honey.” Lussuria giggled. “It's Levi!”

Once again, the room was silent as the Storm Guardian processed these words. The grin slid off his lips entirely and was replaced by a look Levi could only describe as astonishment. He looked like – for a moment – he had forgotten how to speak.

“You're joking.” He finally said.

“Nope~”

“Ushishi, Levi's got a girlfriend? As in one that is not a cardboard cutout?”

“Voooooi! That's right, is she actually real?”

Levi huffed in irritation.

“Yeah, she is, asshole. I met her at the supermarket yesterday.”

“Ohh, how nice~” Lussuria cooed.

“Ushishi~ just wait until the frog hears about this.”

What?!

“I don't want _Fran_ to know!” Levi shouted, panic evident in his voice. Knowing that kid, he’d would never hear the end of it!

“Now now,” Lussuria cheerfully spoke up. “Stop being so mean, you guys. Levi's our teammate and we should be happy for him.”

“The prince wants to see proof before he believes anything.”

“The brat’s right. I want to see this so-called girlfriend of yours with my own two eyes as well.”

“She's not my girlfriend yet!”

“VOOOOOIIII! Well, what's her name?!”

At this point, a lengthy silence ensued. Levi looked away, coughing into his hand, and muttered something incomprehensible.

“What was that, Levi-chan?”

“I said...” Levi cleared his throat, “Well... I'm not... I'm not really... sure... yet.”

“Eh? You don't know her name?”

“Ushishi~”

“Oi, Levi! Have you ever even spoken to this girlfriend of yours?”

“Well... I… not _exactly_. See, I just said I _met_ her at the supermarket! I never said that I talked to her! And _you_ 're the ones who blew it out of proportion by assuming she's my girlfriend anyway!”

“Ooh nooooo!” Lussuria let out a sad, dramatic wail, touching the palm of his hand against his forehead. “It's unrequited love! So sad!”

Squalo and Bel burst out laughing again and Levi kind of wished he could just bury himself a hole through the ground and hide there forever.

 

…

 

Levi had never felt more embarrassed in his entire life.

It had been barely 12 hours since that disastrous morning and already it seemed to him like Bel and Squalo had spread the news of his ‘sad love story’ (Lussuria’s words) and laughed about it with every single guest present at Sawada's wedding.

If one more person came up to him tonight-

“Oooh, it's Levi-san. Hello, old man.”

“Kufufu.”

Oh seriously, fuck his life.

Heaving a sigh, Levi turned around and came face to face with two illusionists he _really_ didn’t want to talk to right now. Fran was wearing his ridiculous frog hat, and judging by the multitude of knives already stuck in it, the teal-haired boy had already had a run-in with Bel at some point earlier this evening.

“Hello Fran, Mukuro.”

The blue-haired illusionist smirked at him. And well, when was that ever a good sign?

“Is it true?” Fran spoke, sounding rather uninterested even though the look in his eyes spoke of a whole different story. There was something decidedly **evil** in there. Levi just knew it. “What Bel-senpai is saying?”

“I'm not sure if I want to know _what_ that psychopath is saying.”

“Oh, nothing good... I can assure you.” Fran's master chuckled, and really, it wasn't like Levi had expected anything else.

“Hey, Levi-san?” Levi couldn't help but sigh.

“Yes, Fran?”

“You're a really creepy old man, you know that?”

“Kufufu.”

“I mean, who goes around telling people they're in a relationship with someone they've never actually talked to? Creep alert 101.”

“Shut up, Fran. That's not what happened.”

“Oh?” Mukuro smirked, and Levi knew the bastard was enjoying this. What had he ever done to deserve any of this? “That certainly is how your comrade described it to us, just ten minutes ago...”

If it wasn't for the strict orders they had all received from Sawada Tsunayoshi (who hadn't even known they'd been invited to his own wedding and had nearly had a panic attack upon seeing them, though his tutor had smiled mysteriously), Levi would have loved to grab his weapons and kick that self-proclaimed prince’s ass. Unfortunately, Sawada had had the sense to confiscate them…

As he was standing there, gazing around the room with a look of desperation in his eyes - _oh how he wished he could be back in the hotel right now-_ Levi caught sight of someone he had admittedly not believed he'd ever see again.

His heartbeat sped up and skipped a beat all at the same time- it was _her._

The ethereal beauty he had come across in the supermarket. She was here, at Sawada's wedding! Having a drink by the buffet! Quickly looking around him, Levi plucked a flower from one of the vases, ripped it out and stuck it in his breast pocket, then took a moment to review his reflection on the back of a spoon. Making sure his sideburns looked suitably charming- he was so glad he'd decided to trim them this morning! - the Varia's thunder guardian nodded to himself.

Yes. Now was his chance.

“Levi-san? Where are you going?”

“Never mind that, Fran. Now move.”

The young illusionist gave him a questioning look but Levi just pushed him aside and started to confidently make his way across the room.

Behind him, Levi didn't notice Mukuro following his gaze. He didn't know that his heterochromic eyes fell on the same woman he’d set his sights on and widened with something akin to recognition...

“Huh... isn't that...?”

If Levi had noticed any of that, it probably would have spared him a lot of trouble and embarrassment in the long run.

“Oh hello there.” Her voice was sweet, like honey. “Are you enjoying yourself?”

“Y-yeah, it's- it's a nice party, huh!” _Get a grip of yourself Levi A. Than! She'll think you're a stuttering idiot!_ Levi mentally reprimanded himself. “So, uh, what a surprise, eh?” The assassin chuckled nervously. “To think we'd meet again so soon! I didn’t think I'd see you again after ah, well... who'd have known we'd both be attending the same wedding...! Haha...”

“I'm sorry... have we met before?”

The words struck Levi's heart like a thousand of Bel's creepy little knives. Or like a shot from Xanxus-sama's gun. He had thought they'd shared a moment back at the supermarket, when she had looked up and smiled at him, but had it been one-sided?! _Had she never known he existed?_

“Are you alright, sir? You don't look so well...”

“I- I'm fine... I just, I think I will go get a drink now, would you ah, like one?”

“Oh, if you don't mind.” The woman smiled. “That would be very kind of you.”

As Levi made his way back towards where the drinks all stood, he couldn't help the heavy feeling in his chest. Was this what heartbreak felt like? He sighed, reached out for a bottle and poured himself a drink.

He didn't even notice two of his fellow Varia assassins standing right beside him until they spoke up.

“Vooooii... that was-”

“ _Pathetic._ That's what it was.”

“Squalo! Xanxus-sama!” Levi exclaimed, and sure enough, there they stood. Squalo was drinking a glass of what looked like champagne while Xanxus- not caring enough to bother with glasses- was drinking wine straight from the bottle. “You saw that...?”

“You bet we did. Got second-hand embarrassment just watching you!”

“Trash.”

Whether that referred to Levi, the situation as a whole, or something entirely different, Levi wasn't entirely sure. Either way, he thought it was quite accurate.

“So that's her, then?” Squalo asked, throwing a look over Levi's shoulder. “Doesn't look half bad, huh?”

“Yeah... she doesn't know I exist though.”

“Well...” The swordsman shrugged. “Not much you can do about that. Did you at least get to introduce yourself?”

“...”

“You... _did_ introduce yourself, right?”

“I... well... I _might_ have forgotten...”

“VOOOOOOOIII! HOW DO YOU FORGET TO INTRODUCE YOURSELF, YOU IDIOT?!”

“I was under a lot of stress, okay?!”

“YOU COMPLETE-” _Crash._ “VOOOOOOOOOOIII! WHAT THE FUCK, BOSS?”

“Shut it. You're causing a scene.”

And indeed, it would seem that they were, because several people were looking their way while others were slowly but surely moving away from where the three Varia assassins were standing.

“Ushishi~ the Prince thought he heard your voice, peasant.” _Great,_ Levi thought despairingly, now _Bel_ was here. Just what he needed. “What's going on?”

“This idiot-” Squalo jabbed a finger in his direction, “Found his girlfriend here by some miracle and then managed to _forget_ to introduce himself.”

Even though he couldn't see it, Levi got the impression that Bel was giving him a blank look.

“That's a whole new level of pathetic... even for a peasant like you, Levi.”

“Shut up.”

“That's exactly what we said as well!”

“You know, if you're just going to insult me, I'm going to go stand somewhere else where I at least can't hear you.” Levi was about to do exactly that, when somebody caught his arm and pulled him back.

“Voooi! Don't even think about it. You being this pathetic reflects badly on the rest of the team. We're gonna help you.”

“What?”

“Ushishi~ You heard Squalo. What he said.”

(In retrospect, Levi should have known that this - too- would be a bad idea.)

 

…

 

_“Alright, asshole, listen up.” Squalo said as the three of them sat in one of the upstairs bathrooms, a silver suitcase in his hands. Where exactly he had gotten it (since he hadn't arrived at the wedding holding it) was anyone's guess. “I've got exactly what we need.”_

Knock knock.

_“Ushishi! This bathroom's taken~”_

_Unclasping the suitcase, Squalo grinned. He reached inside and when his hand emerged, the silver-haired swordsman was holding something small and – oh, great._

_“So. You'll wear this earpiece and Bel and I will guide you through the motions of talking to a woman. You only say what we tell you to, got it?”_

_Levi was doubtful, but he had a feeling he'd get stabbed (or worse) if he refused._

…

 

_“Alright. Levi. Can you hear me?”_

“Yeah, Squalo. I'm still not too sure if this is such a good idea though...”

_“Bullshit. It's a great idea- you just wait.”_

With a sigh, Levi looked around the room. After finally having been let out of the bathroom (Bel had decided that if he wanted to charm any ladies he needed to spike up his appearance a bit first), he was now back at the reception, walking between guests and trying to look casual.

It took him a moment to spot her, but soon enough he was holding two glasses of champagne and weaving his way through the crowd.

“I'm sorry I'm late.” He said and when she turned around and smiled, Levi felt his heart skip another beat. It was as if time stopped- what was that song again? _When you smile, the whole world stops and stares for a while?_ Yes, that was it. Perfect.

_“VOOOOOII! LEVI! DON'T SPACE THE FUCK OUT, SHE'S TALKING TO YOU!”_

Of course, what exactly she had said was lost on Levi- not only because he hadn’t been paying attention but also because he couldn't hear her over Squalo's hollering anyway.

Confused, the beautiful lady looked around and blinked.

“Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

_Was it his heartbeat? Was his heart beating so loudly that she could hear it?_

“I thought I... heard someone.”

_Or maybe it was just Squalo after all..._

“Probably nothing.”

“Hmm, you're right.”

_“Are you just going to stand around sipping champagne all day?! Introduce yourself!”_

“Right. Um. I'm Levi.” He held out his hand. “It’s n-nice to meet you.”

“Oh, it’s nice to meet you too. (Her hands were so soft! Levi could start crying actual tears of happiness right now- their hands were touching!) I'm Nana.”

 _Nana!_ What a beautiful name to give to such a beautiful lady!

_“Say something back, dumbass.”_

“C-Charmed.”

She was smiling at him! Levi thought he might need to see a doctor- where was Lussuria when you needed him?!

“So… how do you know Tsu-kun? I don't think I've seen you around before... or are you perhaps a friend of Kyoko-chan's?”

“No, my team and I- we're... we work with Sawada- in a way.”

_“VOOOIII! THIS TOILET IS FUCKING TAKEN! GO FIND ANOTHER ONE!”_

“Oh so you're from Italy then, aren't you?”

_“I DON'T CARE IF IT'S URGENT!”_

_“Ushishi~”_

“Yes. It's really nice- good weather, you know.”

Levi did not know what was going on in that bathroom Bel and Squalo were hiding in (and to be honest, he wasn't really sure if he wanted to find out either), but his ears were suffering greatly because of it. There were several... explosions. Bel laughing... Squalo screaming... some kid crying...

Nana, at least, seemed to be oblivious to the whole thing.

“So what do you do, anyway?”

Levi opened his mouth to go with his usual alibi- he couldn't very well go around telling everybody he was an assassin, after all- but just as if reading his mind, Bel spoke up before he could.

_“Tell her something impressive. Ushishi~”_

_“I'M GOING TO GUT YOU, YOU STUPID COW KID! VOOOOOIII!”_

“I'm-”

“A clown.”

“ _Ushishishishi!”_

Turning around, Levi came face to face with the spawn of Satan himself.

“ _Fran!_ What are you doing here?!” The teal-haired illusionist just looked at him innocently. Fake-innocently, Levi might as well add, because he could see right through it- that kid was  evil. One day the rest of the Vongola would believe him. Until then, he could only endure.

“I was just passing by, but then I heard your voice and I knew this would be hilarious.”

“ _BEL I DIDN'T MEAN THAT LITTERALLY! PUT YOUR FUCKING KNIVES AWAY OR SO HELP ME I WILL-” More crying. More screaming. More damage to Levi's ear drums._

It was then that Levi decided to do something for the greater good (though mostly for the good of his own sanity and hearing) and disabled the earpiece. Silence filled his ears, and it was the most beautiful sound Levi had ever heard.

Until he realized Fran was talking. _To Nana._

“So you're Levi-san's _raison d'être_...”

“Raison d'être...? What's that? Is it Italian?”

“No, it's French. It means-”

Levi acted in record time, using reflexes only a Varia assassin of his caliber could possess in order to tackle Fran and shut his mouth.

“Nothing!” He quickly said. “It doesn't mean anything! Excuse us for a moment, please.”

 

…

 

_After having managed to reestablish the bathroom as their HQ, there were now four assassins huddled in the narrow space. Fran was sitting on top of the toilet lid, swinging his legs back and forth as Bel lounged inside the bathtub, a grin on his lips and a knife between his fingers. Squalo was leaning against the wall, looking rather disgruntled._

_“So Squalo's plan was a complete fail.” Bel announced. “Ushishi, as expected of a peasant of course...but the Prince has a better idea.”_

_“Voooooii! It was a good idea in theory! Besides, that piece of crap ruined it by disabling his earpiece! What did you do that for?”_

_“I was going deaf! What was I supposed to do?”_

_“I just think it was a stupid plan to begin with. I mean, you couldn't pick anything more predictable and cliché if you tried, long-haired commander.”_

_“Shut up, Fran! Why are you here anyway?!”_

_Bel snickered. Levi just wondered why everybody in the Varia had to be such weirdoes._

…

 

Prince Belphegor, commander of the Varia’s Storm Division, was widely recognized as a tactical genius within the Vongola. That didn't mean Levi had to have any confidence in this particular plan of his.

Not knowing what said plan entailed, of course, only served to make him even more amxious with each passing second. According to Bel, his reaction ( _his reaction to **what** exactly?) _ had to look authentic for it to work and so he had been shoved out of the bathroom as soon as the real planning had started. When he had tried to eavesdrop, getting on his hands and knees and pressing his ear against the gap between the door and the floor, a knife had nearly been stabbed into his skull.

Needless to say, Levi hadn't tried that again.

He had instead wandered off back to the main ballroom, where Sawada and his wife seemed to be giving some sort of speech. He clapped politely with the rest of them, and when everyone went back to what they were doing, he walked over to Nana and invited her outside.

Just like Bel had told him to.

He wracked his brain, carefully observing his surroundings for clues, but everything seemed to be... ominously calm. The calm before the storm, Levi figured, because with Belphegor in charge there was sure to be a storm of some kind. Whether it be in the literal or metaphorical sense of the word.

“It's a nice night, huh?” Nana hummed in her sweet voice, and Levi nodded almost mechanically. Being in Nana's presence felt magical, just as it always did, the only problem was Levi's mounting worry and suspicion.

_Just what was Belphegor up to?_

“It is, yes.”

The garden was indeed beautiful. There were trimmed hedges surrounding them, hiding the castle from the outside world. There were flowers too, and when the sun shone on it Levi knew that the grass would become a most vibrant shade of green. But even at night, it was still a sight to behold.

The full moon reflected on the surface of the black lake, and if one stood close enough, they could see the golden flashes of goldfish swimming around. The scent of night shade was in the air. Levi had to admit- if nothing else- Belphegor knew how to set the mood.

It was unavoidable, of course, that something would go wrong sooner or later.

Namely, Nana and him had barely been outside for ten minutes, when Levi saw something that made his insides turn to ice. Or jelly. Or both. Either way, Fran stealthily making his way towards them was never a good sign.

A bit further away, hiding behind a tree, Bel and Squalo stood.

_Ohh this wasn't going to end well..._

Fran looked his way and gave him a thumbs up- face remaining, just as always, apathetic. Levi, trying not to make it too obvious, shook his head, making wild hand gestures at the illusionist not to do whatever it was he was about to do.

No such luck, of course.

“Levi-san?” Turning around to look at what Levi had intently been staring, Nana's face broke out into a smile. And what a beautiful smile it was! “Oh, Fran-kun! Hello there. Are you also out for some fresh air?”

Instead of replying, Fran looked Levi dead in the eyes, took a step to his left and proceeded to drop to the ground, sideways. Something fell out of his hand, and a small 'plop' was heard as it rolled into the lake.

_That kid had no acting skills at all!_

“Oh no...” He said, voice uncaring. “I fell.”

“You poor thing! Are you alright?”

As Nana held out a hand to help Fran get up, Levi had half a mind to kick him into the lake instead. With any luck at all he'd drown and that would be one thing less to worry about in Levi's life. He was distracted though, by a gigantic roar that shook the entire area as a shadow covered half the garden.

There, in the middle of the lake, a _monster_ stood. It was big, and spiky and... looked rather like a turtle.

Before Levi could turn on him, Fran was gone.

_Damn that kid! Damn Belphegor and his stupid plans! Damn everything!_

Reaching towards his back, Levi closed his fist over a parabola. Or he tried, at least- because then he remembered that Sawada had requested they surrender their weapons before entering the building. He was practically defenseless!

Levi was going to die- and hadn't even gotten to complete his Xanxus-sama shrine yet!

Like a scene from a horror movie, Levi watched the monster's front leg descend. He barely had the time to jump out of the way before a huge cloud of dust and a terrible CRASH filled the air. Nana screamed, and that was when Levi knew he had to do _something_!

“It's alright, Nana!” He cried. “I will protect you!”

There wasn't much he could do without his parabolas, but Levi A. Than wasn't Varia Quality for nothing. He was the best of the best- he could take down an overgrown turtle with or without his chosen weapon. (Or so he hoped). Grabbing a branch, Levi let out a heroic battle cry and ran at the beast with a look of utter determination in his eyes.

“I will not let you harm Nana-sama!” He cried, repeatedly swinging the branch at the monster's belly. Predictably, it didn't do much more than irritate it. Why did the Sawada kid have to pick _now_ of all times to make them give up their weapons?!

 _And why the hell weren't Squalo and Bel helping?!_ He could still see them standing there, and Levi knew for a fact that Belphegor hadn't given up all of his knives!

He was about to shout at them, when the monster's leg connected with his stomach and made him fly halfway across the garden. Levi hit some shrubbery, and this should have been a relief but- why the hell did it have to be the _thorny_ one?!!

Forcing himself to open his eyes, the Varia's thunder guardian was met with another realization.

“Nana, watch out!”

But before the beast could squash her, or before Levi could even get up, something orange and fast flew past him, colliding with the turtle and throwing it back.

“Sawada!”

“Tsu-kun!”

Seconds later, the Cavallone Boss was there as well, swinging his whip at the creature and skillfully tying it up. Levi was too relieved for words.

(If he had stayed just a little while longer, Levi might have heard the Vongola Decimo referring to Nana as his mother. But he didn't and so- unfortunately for Levi- the story continues.).

 

…

 

_“Are you trying to kill me, Bel?!” Levi yelled as soon as the four assassins were back within the safety of their bathroom HQ. He grabbed the blonde by the collar, fully intending to punch him into next week, but the self-proclaimed prince only swatted his hands away like he was an annoying fly buzzing around his head._

_“Well, it could have been an added bonus, of course, but it's not the Prince's fault you couldn't fight off a puny turtle.”_

_“Puny?! That thing was five times my size!”_

_“Shishi~”_

_“Since the fallen prince's plan was a failure (stab), as we all knew it would be (another stab), does that mean that it's my turn now?”_

_One look at Fran had Levi making a decision for the greater good. There was **no way in hell** he was going to let the teal-haired illusionist, or anybody else in his squad for that matter, “help him out”. Ever again._

_“No. I'll do it myself.”_

 

…

 

Feeling marginally more confident now that none of his teammates were breathing down his neck, giving him horrible advice and endangering his life for their own sadistic amusement, Levi set out to find Nana for the fourth time today. He even grabbed two glasses of champagne on his way there, pausing for a moment longer in order to inspect his appearance.

Levi didn't really have a plan, and when he saw her, his mind drew a blank anyway. His stomach filled with butterflies and he felt so light and happy he could probably fly if he tried it. It was then and there that Levi realized something: He had to confess. And he had to do it _tonight._

“Um, excuse me, Nana?” He spoke up, drawing her attention. Her doe brown eyes met his, and she was just as perfect as always. She smiled her sweet smile, and Levi felt so happy he could die. Her eyes, her hair, the smile on her beautiful face, her... everything. Everything about her was perfect. (Distantly, he could already hear the wedding bells). If Levi got that dreamy smile on his face again, Nana didn't notice.

“Oh, it's Levi A. Than, isn't it?” A voice suddenly said, and the first thing Levi realized as he snapped out of his trance… was that it most certainly didn't belong to Nana. Blinking rapidly, Levi was shocked to find out that there was a blonde man standing next to his precious Nana! He had his arm draped over her shoulders and his face was awfully familiar. He was also giving Levi a look that would make most mafiosi run for the mountains.

It was only years upon years of living with none other than Xanxus-sama that kept Levi where he was.

“Iemitsu?” He questioned, glancing back and forth between Nana and the man. What was the meaning of this?!

“Aye, that's right.” The man grinned. It was a grin that promised pain. “I see you've met my wife.”

_Wife...?_

Levi gulped, and promptly ran for the mountains.

 

...

_Two months later_

….

 

“.... Levi-chan... would you come out of your room, please?” Lussiria sighed deeply as he knocked on the thunder guardian's door for the umpteenth time that day. When no reply came, he pouted. “You can't stay in there forever, you know...”

The lengthy silence that followed was enough of a reply: _I can and I will._


End file.
